Mastering the Career Accelerators!

Those seeking career growth come to me for guidance. Having now worked with over 5,500 clients globally as a career and life coach I have codified many developmental needs peoples have to accelerate their careers. My client pool includes from fresh graduates to CEOs.

This blog is a list of some of those development needs, with my recommendations on how to accelerate your development in each of those areas. Many of the items below are interrelated. In other words, when you make efforts to develop in one area you are also reinforcing some others, so these development outcomes are synergistic, which is a boon to anyone’s overall leadership development. Remember, these suggestions are not presented here as proxies to doing great work in whatever area that engages you, but are its complements:

1. Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Although there is no substitute for raw intelligence, too much emphasis is placed on IQ, even after one graduates. Yes, IQ helps you quickly analyze  complex situations, come up with alternatives, and makes you grasp more easily than those less gifted in this department can, the correlation of adult success and IQ is only about 20% (that correlation between your GPA and IQ is almost 100%). EQ, unlike the IQ, is a nurtured trait, so one can make conscious efforts to grow their EQ. When people want to grow their careers the most common enabler is their relationships (a’ la EQ). So, learn how to improve your ability to connect with others and build strong relationships, while you keep your high-IQ brain sharp!
2. Managing Upwards: Most are good at managing their direct reports. Some do not even know that such a concept exists (this is apparent from clients’ responses to my Client Intake Questionnaire, where about 25% respond to this question in ignorance!). Keeping your chain of command (not just your boss) in the know, and avoiding surprising them are some of the most important factors in developing management’s trust in your leadership. Learn how to manage upwards well!
3. Knowing the Business: I often find that even director-level clients are so focused on their functional responsibilities that they rarely make an effort to understand about their company’s business. Their competition, markets, competitive threats, and emerging trends are some of the factors one must be aware of to keep yourself armed with the overall ecosystem in which you operate.
4. Effective Communication: Although communication is one aspect of high EQ (there are five components to EQ, of which communication is one: see my earlier blog about the Five Qs), this item warrants its own place on this list. Communication includes oral, written, and one’s ability to speak in front of a crowd effectively (public speaking). With increasing use of texting, emailing, and IMs, people have become much more relaxed about proper use of language. This has become a growing problem in business, because precise and effective communication is central to successful outcomes. Strong communication skills are developed with growing vocabulary, learning how to express your thoughts precisely, and effective writing skills.
5. Charisma: Once again, there is much mystery around this characteristic. Many believe that it is a natural gift people possess. If you read the recent article by Jeff Haden, The Ten Habits of Remarkably Charismatic People, you’ll realize that it, too, is a developed trait. This trait also goes hand-in-hand with what is otherwise known as executive presence!
6. Developing Confidence: This is yet another trait that people do not focus on. In business meetings and other social interactions those that display confidence (even with less knowledge than perhaps you have about things) get noticed as someone special. Once again, this is a developed trait, which comes through awareness and practice.
7. Curiosity: If you want to learn something new, you must be curious about things that intrigue you. This is also a great conversation starter. Be curious about other people, things, and whatever that interests you. Curiosity goes well with item #5 (Charisma)!
8. Timing: Timing has to do with knowing when to act. The most effective example of good timing can be learned from stand-ups. Their entire shtick depends on their ability to time their delivery, waiting for the audience to respond to their material. The same thing applies in one’s career. Learn when to make a decision, even without having all the possible information you may need to move ahead. Learn to listen to yourself well in lieu of waiting for an expert opinion or for a more complete analysis of a situation. Trust yourself.
9. Recognizing Others: This is one of the easiest ways to develop management visibility inside your organization. Learn how to spot good work and develop a habit of recognizing great work by anyone around you, even your superiors (make sure that your recognition is not gratuitous in such cases). Send emails to higher ups about someone’s great act and let them bask in the glory of their own hard work. In the processes your name becomes associated with such successes, without your having to hijack their success! It is also free!
10. Being a Leader and not a Boss: As one moves up in an organization it is easy to boss people around. Such behavior soon becomes threadbare, and people stop responding to you spontaneously. On the other hand if you learn to lead people you often do not even need the legal authority to get people to do what is right and get the results few can marshal.

Each one of these qualities is easily learned through awareness and effort. As I mentioned at the opening, these are not proxies for your good and diligent work, but they are its complements. See if you can master these as you grow your career and see how fast your career will blossom!

Good luck!